Northern at Heart [ GoT ]

E I G H T E E N

lady marla ashwood

IT'S BEEN MONTHS SINCE MARLA AND ROBB HAVE REUNITED, and they were truthfully some of the best months of her life. A war was waging outside the safety of Riverrun's Keep, and she was praying to the old gods and new that Robb's forces could pull through. In those few months, Robb and Marla managed to work up the courage to announce their marriage to Robb's advisors. Word spread quickly, and soon the entire Seven Kingdoms knew of their union. Robb still hadn't told Marla of his old betrothal to one of Walder Frey's daughters, afraid of what her reaction would be. He would never want her to feel betrayed by him. Instead, the king kept it to himself and ensured she never would find out about it. He would make it up to Lord Frey, and Marla would never have to know about that small inconvenience.

As Marla tucked herself into bed that night, she found Robb already asleep. She curled up next to him and pulled the fur blanket overtop of her husband, wrapping it around herself as well. A few flames were crackling in the fireplace, although it wasn't too cold this particular night in the Riverlands.

As she shut her eyes to sleep, Marla couldn't help but notice the nauseous feeling in her stomach as well as a pounding headache. It was hard to ignore but she squeezed her eyes closed and tried her best to disregard the pains.

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Early the next morning she woke up to the same awful symptoms she fell asleep with. Her mouth began to water as bile was rising in her throat.

She jumped out of bed and ran over to her chamber-pot right as the awful taste of vomit spewed from her mouth. The rotten flavor of last night's soup was lingering in her mouth for minutes after. She washed it down with some lukewarm water and rubbed her tired eyes.

She suspected she was suffering from the common stomach bug, so she crawled back into bed to muster in a few more hours of sleep.

Beads of sweat were forming on her brow and she wiped them away irritatedly, shifting her position around multiple times in an attempt to get comfortable.

After nearly an hour of staring at the wall with no luck of sleep, Marla decided to ready herself for the day. Once she changed into a simple and plain gown as well as tying her hair back, she exited her and Robbs' chambers to visit the maester for some milk of the poppy.

She wasn't usually one to be overdramatic, and she definitely didn't like asking for others' help, but the pain was pesky and making her irate, so she figured a small dose of medicine would ease her discomforts.

Luckily for her, Riverrun's maester—Maester Vyman—was already wide awake at this hour and bustling around his chambers.

"Queen Marla, what can I help you with?" He asked while shuffling through a stack of papers in his hands. It's been months of her marriage to Robb, but it still felt strange to be called queen.